A Wolf's Tale
by Dr. Huff-Puff
Summary: Tala hates her brother. He seems to be favored by their mother and he goes to a private school. He always gets new clothes and books, but she doesn't. One day, Tala decides to follow her brother on his way to school.
1. Prologue

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them :)

Any character that you don't recognize from the books belongs to me.

A Wolf's Tale

Prologue

Tala was a sixteen-year-old muggle girl with dark brown hair that was short enough to give the impression that she was wearing a thorny skin of a hedgehog on her head. She had blue eyes and tanned skin. She loved going to the beach in summer to lie under the burning sun and get her skin darkened. It was her only free of cost pleasure. Summer was her favorite season, as she was on a vacation from school. She hated her school, because teachers never seemed to understand her. She had conflicts with them almost everyday. Her classmates kept making fun of her because she never bothered to dress up properly for school. Her school shirts had torn sleeves and her skirt was never ironed. She lived with her mother and older brother Remus. Who seemed to love his school, which was mysterious for Tala. Their father has died when Tala was seven. He was murdered by people whom Tala only remembered to be wearing strange looking black cloaks.

Remus' clothes were much better than Tala's. He always had new school uniform at the end of August, and all his books were new. And the funny part was that they were all about spells and magic. Their mother also bought Remus everything he needed for school, but she never did the same for her. She had to 'deal' with what she already had. Her books were collected from the elder students who didn't need them anymore. Her mother told her that they didn't have enough money to buy new school uniform for her, or even new books. But how did she afford Remus' clothes and books? Tala felt jealousy rise in her.

Remus lived at his school all year, and he came home only during Christmas and summer holidays. Their family had a secret though. Remus had a health problem, as Tala thought, which made him transform once in a month into a wolf. A werewolf has bitten her brother when he was younger and since then, on each full moon night, their mother locked him up in his room. His howls and growls always frightened Tala. She spent the full moon nights in her mother's room, afraid that her brother would come and bite them.

Tala was starting to hate her brother for all the attention he received not only from their mother, but also, he had friends who came to visit him during the summer holidays. They went to Remus' school and were his classmates.

One of them had brown hair and blue eyes. He wore round glasses and seemed to have an obsession in ruffling his hair all the time so it would look messy. His name was James Potter.

The other friend also had blue eyes, and his dark brown hair reached his shoulders. It had a slight curl in it. He had a sexy smile (Tala couldn't deny it), and he seemed to be the most daring and trouble loving one among them. His name was Sirius Black.

The third friend was short and fat. He was blond and his front teeth were big enough to show out even when his mouth was shut. His name was Peter Pettigrew. Tala didn't like him (not that she liked James and Sirius). He brought a feeling of insecurity with him whenever he came to their house. Tala could feel that this boy smelled trouble.

Remus seemed happy when his friends came over. They kept playing in the backyard using some stupid sticks by pointing them at each other and muttering some strange stuff. Then, they act like they were shot or something. Boys! Do they ever grow up? Tala always went to her room and locked herself up when Remus' friends came.

Tala didn't know anything about her brother's school. She didn't know that magic really existed. That a school named Hogwarts was the most famous and powerful witchcraft and wizardry school in the world. She didn't know that her father was a wizard, as well as her brother, who was a seventh year student and a Head Boy at Hogwarts. Her mother insisted on keeping it a secret from her for her own safety.

One day, Tala decided that she wanted to know everything about her brother's school. What was so important about it that made him buy a new uniform each year? In addition, the worst part was that their mother always escorted him to school on the first of September each year. She has never taken Tala to school on her first day of September! Tala pretended to be preparing her school bag on the night of August 31st. Instead of putting books in her bag, she put some spare clothes and underwear in it. She looked around her room and saw a cloak on the ground. She has stolen it from her brother's room a couple of days ago. She has seen him use that cloak. It was a strange one. One night, Remus sneaked into the kitchen, and Tala saw him wrap himself with the cloak before going downstairs. It made him become invisible! Now it was her turn to become invisible and follow him to his school. She picked up the cloak and wrapped it around herself. She left her head out and looked at her self in a mirror. She only saw her head. Her body was invisible. Tala smiled at her success and put the cloak in her bag.

Then she lay in bed and fell asleep. She was determined to follow Remus to his school this year, no matter what her school teachers would think or say. As her brother, he was supposed to go to the same school as her, but why did he get the chance to study in a private school while she was being humiliated by going to a public school?

At the same time, Remus was packing his trunk. He was getting ready to his first day at Hogwarts as a Head Boy. He polished his badge and put it on his school robe and then he polished his wand. After finishing he searched the room for something. He had lost a precious item and it didn't even belong to him!

"James is going to kill me." Remus said with panic rising in his heart.


	2. Discovery

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Chapter 1 - Discovery

"MUM!" Remus called in the morning.

"What is it honey?" his mother came running.

"James' invisibility cloak is gone! I borrowed it from him a week ago and now it's gone!"

"Did you search your wardrobe?"

"Yes."

"Under your bed?"

"Yes."

"Under your desk?"

"Yes."

"The living room?"

"Yes."

"The kitchen?"

"Yes."

"Er… where else?" his mother thought. "Oh, the backyard?"

"Yes!"

"Tala's room?"

"She locks the door all the time, and I've never been there for the last three years."

"The laundry?"

Remus didn't reply to that one. He ran straight to the laundry room and searched everywhere. His mother followed him and helped with his search.

"It's not here either. Mum, what am I going to tell him? It was a present from his father!" Remus said and sat on the ground. His mother knelt before him and held his face in her hands.

"You will go to school like nothing has happened. I will search the house once more and when I find it, I'll send it to you by an owl." His mother said with a smile.

"Mum, you know I can't lie to James."

"You're not going to lie to him honey." His mother hugged him. "I never said that you'll lie to him. Tell him that you forgot it at home and I am going to send it later."

Remus gave it a thought and then nodded. "Thanks mum." He looked into her eyes. "I love you." He hugged her again.

"I love you too Remi. And I wish that your sister felt the same."

"I'm sure she loves you. She's just… weird."

"Don't say that about your sister." She pulled away from the hug and sat next to him.

"All these years I never thought about it, but now…" Remus sighed. "Mum, why can't we exchange sickles and galleons for Muggle money? I am the only one who gets new school uniform in this house. I can't stand to see my sister going to school in her old uniform. Not that I ever saw her go to school. However, I know that she doesn't like her clothes, she's angry with me all the time and almost never speaks to me. It seems that she thinks that you are favoring me on her."

His mother looked at the ground with tears forming in her eyes. "Your father was killed because he tried to exchange money Remus." She said.

"What? I thought that Death Eaters killed him."

"They did. You know that Death Eaters don't like us. I mean Muggles. And every time your father wanted to exchange money we received a warning letter telling us to stop. One day he was on his way to Gringotts to withdraw some golden sickles. Once he was out of the bank a Death Eater approached him and warned him in person that he would die if he exchanged the sickles for Muggle money. Your dad didn't listen to him and came back home before he went out again. He took Tala with him."

"I remember that day." Remus said in a calm voice. "I cried because he took her out and left me home."

His mother smiled. "And I had to take you to the mall with me." She wiped her tears. "He went to a jewelry shop to sell the sickles as gold. Once he came out of the shop Death Eaters attacked him. Tala said that they were wearing black cloaks and they were hooded. No one saw what happened though. The jeweler said that he saw some strange looking men who approached the shop before your father went out, but he didn't remember anything after that. Since that day I never exchanged money. I was scared that Death Eaters would hurt you and Tala. I don't know why I never told you this, but I was scared. I don't want to lose any of you. I never told Tala about you or your father being wizards. I don't want to mix her in this because I don't know what would she do. I know that's she's already scared of you being a werewolf. She sleeps in my room every full moon night, even when you're at school."

Remus looked at ground. He never wanted to scare his sister.

"She has never seen you transform, but she's heard your howls and growls during those nights and she cried to sleep." She looked at Remus' eyes. "Promise that you won't tell her that you're a wizard, Remus. Please. I don't want any of you to get hurt."

"It's okay mum." Remus said and hugged his mother. "I understand now. I promise not to tell her unless you want me to. And I promise that nothing will happen to any of us. I will fight against the Death Eaters and they'll pay for what they did to our family."

"Just don't get hurt." His mother said and kissed his forehead. "Now go and get dressed. I don't want you to be late for the train."

"Alright."

Remus went back to his room finished packing his trunk. He got dressed and put his wand in his pocket. He pulled his trunk after him as he went to the living room.

Tala looked at Remus as she put her head out of her room door. She put her bag on and rushed downstairs.

"I'm going to school." She called and went out.

Mr. Lupin sighed at her daughter's behavior and took her purse. "Are you ready Remus?"

"Yes mum."

"Alright, let's go."

They went out and took a taxi to King's Cross Station. Tala watched them from behind, the invisibility cloak wrapped around her. She checked her pockets to see if she had enough money for a taxi and then she took one and told the driver to follow the other taxi.

Remus and his mother got out of the taxi and entered the station. Tala paid the driver and followed. She hid in a corner and pulled the invisibility cloak on her and then followed her mother and brother. She saw them reach Platform 9 and then they stopped between it and Platform 10. They looked around and then Remus pulled his trunk after him and ran through the barrier that was between the two platforms. Tala gasped in shock. How could this be? That was a wall for God's sake! He couldn't possibly be crossing through a wall?!

Tala decided to follow no matter how odd it was. She knew that no one can see her, but every one can feel her, as she bumped into a couple of passengers on her way to the platforms. She saw her mother leave and she headed straight at the barrier. She didn't know what was she supposed to do, so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"This better work. Open Sesame!" she muttered and ran to the wall. Somehow, it felt like she was passing through a jelly.

Tala almost hit the ground as she reached Platform 9 3/4. She saw different people wearing cloaks and they were escorting their children to the large train. She saw Remus pulling his trunk after him and suddenly he screamed when he saw someone. Tala looked carefully and recognized the boy to be Sirius Black. She growled and followed them. They got up in the train and entered a compartment. Tala knew that this train was going to take her to the mysterious school that Remus went to. She walked to another wagon and found an empty compartment. She pulled the cloak off her and put it in her bag. She hoped that Remus or his friends wouldn't come to this compartment. She would get into deep trouble if they caught her. Suddenly, the door opened and a little boy entered.

"Hello, can I thit here?" he said.

Tala looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, why not?"

"Thank you." The boy said. "I'm a firtht year. Which year are you?"

Whoops! How would she know?! She didn't even know which year her brother was so at least she would make a guess!

"Er… I'm sixteen, so what year does that make me?" She put a fake smile on her face to look like she was testing him.

The boy thought for a moment. "Thixth year! Wow! Which houthe are you in? I want to be in Gryffindor. They thay that it'th the betht!"

OK, that was a house name. Well, maybe. Tala thought. "I'm in Gryffindor." She said slowly.

At that moment the door opened again and this time a girl entered. She seemed to be at Tala's age. "You're a first year, aren't you?" she asked the boy.

"Yeth."

"You better go to the third wagon, all first years are there."

"Alright." The boy said. "Thee you at thcool."

"Okay." Tala said and faked another smile.

The boy left and the girl came in and sat down. "Hi, I'm Emily Brown. I'm a sixth year and a Gryffindor. I never saw you before. Are you new?" she said with a smile.

"I'm… I'm Tala."

"Nice to meet you Tala. You have a nice name."

"Thanks." Tala smiled. For the first time in her life someone was being nice with her.

"So, which house are you from? You're not from my house that's for sure."

Oh boy. Here comes trouble. Tala looked at Emily without knowing what to say. Tricking a first year was easy thing, but this girl was a sixth year, and that meant she knew all the students. Even if she didn't know their names, she would at least know how they looked.

"Well, I… I was…"

"Don't tell me you don't know which house you belong to!" Emily said. "You're not a first year, that one I can tell."

"I… Oh God!" Tala put her face in her hands and started to cry. She felt confused and didn't know what to do. If she told Emily the truth, she might go and tell Remus or someone in charge.

"Hey, don't cry." Emily said calmly and sat next to Tala, wrapping her arm around her shoulder. "I won't tell anyone if you're ashamed of your house."

"It's… not… that." Tala said between sobs. "I'm… here… to check on… my brother."

"Oh." It was Emily's turn to be confused.

Tala wiped her tears and looked at Emily. "I don't know why I did this, but I wanted to know where he studies. I wanted to know why was he the only one to get new school uniform and new books each year. Why did our mother take him to school on the first day of September while I had to go by my own. Therefore, I followed them today to the train station and then I saw him disappear through the wall. It was strange. I followed him and I came to this compartment."

"Didn't he see you?"

"No, I had a strange cloak on. It made me become invisible."

"An invisibility cloak? Wow! That's something rare! Can I see it?" Emily said excitedly.

"Sure." Tala took out the cloak from her bag and showed it.

"It doesn't look like a magical item." Emily said and Tala stared at her.

"Magical item? Magic doesn't exist!"

"It does." Emily tried the cloak and kept her head out. She looked down at herself and couldn't see her body. "This is great!" she gave the cloak back to Tala and sat back next to her. "As far as I can see, you're a Muggle. How come you don't have magical abilities while your brother has?"

"What's a Muggle?" Tala asked.

"A Muggle is a non-wizard human. You are not a witch, so that makes you a Muggle."

"So my brother is a wizard?"

"If he attends Hogwarts, then he is."

"Hogwarts?"

"It's the name of our school. By the way, I'll call my boyfriend; maybe he can help you by keeping an eye on your brother. He's so good at this kind of things. His name is Sirius Black." Emily got up.

"NO!" Tala shouted and Emily turned to stare at her in a shock. "Please… don't call him."

"Why?" Emily asked.

"He's one of my brother's friends."

"He is? Who's your brother?"

"Remus Lupin. Do you know him?"

"Of course I know him! He's in the seventh year and he's also in my house." Emily sat down again. "You're Remus' sister? He never told us that he had a sister."

"Didn't expect him to do so." Tala muttered.

"You seem to be having problems with him."

"Well, our mother favors him and I don't like it."

"I see. So, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." Tala sighed.

"Listen, I won't tell anyone that you're here, and I'll try to figure out a way to help you. But there's one problem."

"What is it?"

"How long and where are you going to stay?"

Both of the girls were silent for a while. Tala stared out of the window while Emily held her head in her hands thinking of a possible way to help Tala out of this mess.

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Remus was sitting in his compartment reading a book while Sirius was playing wizard chess with James and Peter was watching them.

"Check mate!" James said.

"Bloody hell! You did it again." Sirius said.

"Of course!" James said with pride.

Remus shut his book and looked at them. "I think it's time for us to wear our robes."

Sirius looked at his watch. "Yeah, we're almost there. I'll go and see how Emily is doing." He got up and pulled his school robes on. Remus did the same.

"And I'll check on the prefects."

"I hope that you'll take lots of points from Slytherins this year Moony." James said.

"Yeah! I can't wait to see Malfoys face when you do so." Sirius said.

"I won't take points from Slytherins without a reason." Remus said as he opened the door.

"Being a Slytherin is enough to take points." Sirius said. "I wish I was a Head Boy! They would end up with no points at the end of the year."

"That would've been great!" James laughed.

"Alright, enough dreaming. I'll be back after a while." Remus went out.

"See you in a minute." Sirius said and walked out of the compartment.

He headed straight to the next wagon where he knew he would find Emily.

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"We're almost there." Emily said. "You better put that cloak on."

"Alright." Tala took out the cloak and put it on her.

"It's really odd to speak to an invisible person you know." Emily laughed.

"It's odd enough to be invisible anyway."

At that moment the door opened and Sirius came in. "There you are!" he looked around. "Why are you sitting here alone?" he sat next to her.

"I… I was reading and I didn't want anyone to disturb." Emily looked at Tala's direction, hoping that Sirius wouldn't see or feel her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were alone? I would've kept you company." He sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I needed some time alone." Emily smiled.

"Oh, okay. Well, I hope that you don't want to be alone at this moment." He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. As soon as their lips met Emily pulled away.

"Sirius, not here. Please." She said and blushed. She turned to look at Tala's direction again.

"Why not? We're alone anyway. No one would see."

"It's not that. Anyone would enter the compartment, a prefect or a first year. I don't want them to think something else."

"Sometimes I really wonder how you girls think." Sirius said. "Alright, if that's what you want."

"Thanks." Emily said.

Sirius smiled. "Why don't we go and join the others? They're in the other wagon."

"Okay." Emily got up and turned to look at Tala. Thankfully she was sitting next to the window and Sirius wouldn't think that there was someone actually there.

"Why do you keep looking at the window?" Sirius asked.

"I… I just want to see if we're there already."

"You'll know when we get there, don't worry."

"I will be sitting in a separate carriage." Emily said.

"Of course, each carriage can take only four, and I'm going with James and the others."

"I'll take the last carriage, I want to see how Hagrid takes the first years to the lake. I never had the chance to see him do that before. It's always good to see the first years from a side." Emily was trying to tell that to Tala, so they would meet after getting out of the train.

"Yeah, they freak out when they see him." Sirius grinned.

"Alright, let's go now."

They both went out of the compartment and headed to the one where James and Peter were sitting.

Tala let out a sigh. She was about to be caught by Sirius if she didn't have the cloak.

As the train stopped Tala got out and looked around. She did her best to avoid the other students who were running around trying to get into a carriage.

When she saw the black carriages her mouth dropped open. They didn't have anything to pull them. How were they going to move? And they didn't look like cars for sure. Tala shrugged and looked for the last carriage in the row. When she found it, she walked to it and noticed that it was the only carriage that had a horse on the front. The horse turned to look at her with its enormous eyes. Tala waited for a couple of minutes and when she saw Emily approaching she walked to her side.

"Emily." She whispered.

Emily jumped. "Tala is that you?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Don't worry about it. Come, get in the carriage."

They climbed in and another two girls came in. The carriage started to move as soon as they sat down.

"Hi Emi." One of the girls said. She had green eyes and red curly hair that cascaded on her shoulders.

"Hi Lily, how are you?"

"I'm fine. Tired of the trip in fact. I can't wait to go to my room and sleep."

"It was a long one. I'm tired too." Emily said.

"Have you seen James?" Lily asked.

"Yes, he was with Sirius and Peter. I didn't see Remus though."

"Well, he seems to be starting his duties as a Head Boy." Lily smiled.

"Yeah."

As the carriage reached the school grounds, the girls got out and headed to the Entrance Hall. Emily was holding Tala's hand all the time so she wouldn't get lost, and then she pulled Tala to a side.

"We will go now to the Great Hall for the welcoming feast. I will have to sit next to Sirius, and I don't think it would be a good idea if you joined us there. So I think you should wait outside until we come out."

"How are you going to find me?" Tala asked.

"You'll stay at the place I show you, and when we're out I come and get you, okay?"

"Okay."

"And try to stay calm and don't make a sound. If Filch saw you, we're dead."

"Okay." Tala didn't know who was this Filch, but by the look on Emily's face, she knew that she didn't want to meet him.

"Let's go now." Emily held Tala's invisible hand and they headed to the direction of the Great Hall.

As soon as they were there, Emily headed to the left and pulled Tala with her. She took her to a corner and stopped.

"You'll wait here until I come back, okay?" Emily said.

"Alright."

"Don't forget what I said. We don't want you to be caught by Filch." Emily went back to the Great Hall and entered.

Tala looked around her. This place was huge! It seemed like a castle. No, it was a castle! All the students were wearing black robes and each of them had a small embroidered shield on their chests. She noticed that Remus had a golden badge on his chest, in addition to the shield. So, that must be the Head Boy thing badge, she thought.

As he entered, Remus closed the doors behind him, and Tala was left alone, waiting for Emily to come back.


	3. I Wish You Were Still Alive Dad

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Gavroche-Girl: Thanks a million!!! Here's the second chapter!

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PhoenixLupin: I know that sickles are silver ;) It's explained in this chapter :) Also, if you noticed I mentioned in the prologue that Sirius' eyes are grey, but the truth is; his eyes are blue. Any confusing stuff I write will be explained in later chapters :) Oh and Tala isn't stupid at all. You'll find out in the future. Thanks for the review :)

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Chapter 2 - I Wish You Were Still Alive Dad

Tala stood in the cold corridor waiting for Emily to come back, but it seemed that she was stuck in that corner forever. She looked around and made sure there wasn't anyone around and then she started walking. The castle was huge. Her neck was beginning to hurt from looking at the high walls and the portraits.

"This place is big!" she whispered excitedly. "No wonder he needed new clothes all the time. He must've warned them out through these corridors."

She walked without noticing the look on a cat that passed by. It hissed at her and that made her pay attention to it.

"Hey kitty." Tala whispered.

The cat walked closer to her and rubbed itself at Tala's invisible legs. The cat's tail was held high and straight, which made Tala smile. The cat liked her.

"Mrs. Norris? Where are you dear?" a sound came from the other side of the corridor.

Tala knew that this wasn't a person she wanted to meet. As the man walked closer, Tala could see his face. He was in his mid ages, she could tell. His clothes were old and smelled.

"Oh there you are!" he said as he picked the cat up.

Tala took a slow step back so he wouldn't touch her. She looked at the man silently as he spoke to his cat like it was a human. Tala knew that this man was Filch. The man Emily talked about and warned her from being caught by him.

She held her breath and started walking away, trying her best not to make a sound while walking.

When she was finally far from him, she took a deep breath. That was close!

She noticed a large door that looked familiar. She looked through the windows, which were next to the doors and knew that she was on the ground floor and that meant that this was the way out. She pulled the doors open and walked out of the castle.

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The students of Hogwarts were watching the sorting happily, except for Emily, who was feeling nervous and wanted the feast to end as soon as possible. She has left Tala waiting outside in the corridor and even if she had an invisibility cloak on her, it wouldn't stop Mrs. Norris or Filch from finding her and that made Emily feel more nervous.

"What's bothering you?"

Emily turned to see Sirius looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I said, what's bothering you?" he asked again.

"Oh… nothing. I'm hungry, that's all." She lied and turned her attention to the sorting.

Sirius nodded and didn't talk anymore. He was hungry too. It seemed that the sorting was going to last forever. There were so many first years who were going to be sorted this year.

"I hate this ceremony." James muttered.

"You wouldn't have been in Gryffindor if you weren't sorted James." Remus whispered. "Imagine yourself in the same house with Snivelly."

"Don't mention his name please. I don't want to lose my appetite." James replied.

As the sorting was over, professor Dumbledore stood up and said his annual speech. All the students were listening carefully and then the golden plates in front of them were filled with different types of food.

Emily ate in a hurry, although she knew that she wasn't allowed to get out of the hall before everyone else.

"Emi, you're going to choke yourself." Lily said.

"I want to go to sleep." Emily replied.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little bit tired, that's all."

"We will leave soon, don't worry." Lily smiled.

Emily smiled back and continued eating. She kept dropping some bread and fruit into the pocket of her school robes all the time. She wanted to take them to Tala.

"Hey Padfoot! Have you thought of a new prank to pull on Snivelly?" James asked.

"Yeah! I was planning all summer!" Sirius replied.

Lily glared at James with angry eyes and he just shrugged and smiled to her.

"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked.

"Doing what?" he looked at her with innocent eyes.

"You perfectly know what am I talking about. Why do you keep hexing and humiliating Snape?"

"Er… a hobby?"

"You're hopeless." She said and continued her meal.

"Women!" Sirius muttered. James looked at him and winked.

As soon as the feast was over, the prefects led their first years to their common rooms and the rest of the students followed. Emily rushed outside and went to the corner where she has left Tala.

"Tala?" she whispered. "Tala where are you?" No one answered. Emily's face went pale. "Bloody hell! Filch has caught her!"

"Caught who?"

Emily jumped in surprise and trembled, and Sirius caught her just in time before she could hit the ground. He pulled her up and close to him.

"Who were you talking about?" he removed a lock of hair from her face.

"Er… I don't know what are you talking about Siri." Emily said nervously.

"You have just said that Filch has caught her."

"I did? Funny… I don't remember saying such thing."

"Oh come on, you know you can't lie to me." His face was an inch far from hers.

"Why would I lie to you? I really don't know what are you talking about." She replied, her breathing getting heavy. She could feel his warm breath on her face.

"I'll let you get away with this one. But next time, you'll tell me everything." he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Emily could feel herself melting in his arms. She would never resist his kisses. Although she knew that Sirius had the strange habit of changing his girlfriends from time to time, which was very often, but she hoped that he wouldn't search for someone else after her. She did whatever he wanted, so she would please him. And he seemed to like being the leader all the time.

When Emily pulled away from the kiss, Sirius was surprised.

"What's wrong now?" he asked.

"We're not alone here! What if someone caught us?"

"Good point. Let's go to the common room." Sirius said and held Emily's hand and they went to the Gryffindor tower.

As soon as they entered the common room, Emily excused herself and went to her dormitory.

"What's wrong with her?" Lily asked.

"I was about to ask you the same." Sirius said. "She hasn't been herself since the moment she entered the Great Hall."

"I'll go speak to her." Lily said and followed Emily to the girls' dormitories.

"So, Padfoot what plans do you have for this year?" James asked.

"What do you think of hexing Snivelly every day?" Sirius said.

"Bless you! A hex a day would keep ol' Snivelly away!" James laughed and the other Marauders joined him.

"But we have to do it away from the eyes of the others." Peter said, as he shoved a chocolate frog into his mouth.

"Of course. Even Snivelly wouldn't know what hit him." Sirius had an evil grin on his face.

At that moment Remus entered the common room with a letter his hand. His face was pale and he was shaking.

"What's wrong Moony?" Sirius asked.

"What's that letter?" James asked as he got up from his seat.

"It's from mom. She says that… that Tala hasn't returned home yet."

"So? It's only eleven o'clock. She must be out with her friends." Sirius said.

"Tala doesn't have friends and she never goes out." Remus said and sat down on a couch. "Something must have happened to her. Mom says that she didn't go to school today, and the police couldn't find her anywhere."

"Who's the police?" Peter asked.

"They're muggle aurors Wormtail." James said. "Remus, how can we help?"

"I don't think we can do anything from here James. Mom says in the letter that I should remain calm and stay here and she'll be informing me about the investigation. Bloody hell! How am I supposed to remain calm!" he put his head in his hands.

"We can ask Dumbledore to use his sneakoscopes!" Sirius said. "I'm sure he can find her."

"Let's wait until morning." James suggested. "We will visit Dumbledore before breakfast."

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Tala walked through the school grounds until she reached the edge of the forest. It was already dark outside, but she didn't care. She was interested in this territory that she forgot about waiting for Emily in the corridor.

After a while she realized that she still had the invisibility cloak on. She pulled it off her and wrapped it around her arm as she walked. The forest was silent. There were no signs of life there.

Tala reached an opening and stopped. She could see a huge lake that shone under the moonlight. She looked at it and started walking to the shore. She knelt and looked at her reflection. She couldn't see much of her face in it as it was dark, but she washed her face and drank some water, too. She decided that she wanted to have a rest and she lay down near the shore. It was a warm night and she thought that there was nothing that would cause an immediate danger to her, as she hasn't seen or heard anything.

She stared at the clear sky for a while, thinking about her life and her relationship with her brother. She has hated him for three years now. The main reason of that growing hatred was the fact that their mother has always preferred Remus on her. He always received everything he wanted but she got nothing. Not even a pretty notebook that she wanted for her thirteenth birthday. But Remus got it all. He just needed to say 'mum, I want…' and their mother would do everything she can to get it for him.

"I wish you were still alive dad." She said, looking at the clear sky. "Life is unfair."

"You don't know anything about life." A man said.

Tala sat up and turned to see the source of the very familiar voice. She gasped at the sight of the man and stood up.

"How…? But…" she didn't know how to react, for the man standing in front of her was her father.

"Hello Tala." He said with a smile. "Don't be afraid. I'm still dead."

Tala couldn't speak. She stared at him with an opened mouth.

"Sorry for surprising you like that. Your grandmother was right. I should've visited you in your dreams."

"My grandmother?" Tala finally managed to say something.

"Yeah, I'm staying with her in the spirit world."

"But… can I touch you?"

Her father's smile disappeared. "Unfortunately, no. I wish I could touch you. I missed you so much."

"Oh dad…" tears were starting to flow on her cheeks. "Where were you all this time? Why didn't you come to see me?"

"I was waiting for the right moment." He smiled to her. "Don't cry my flower. Come, let's sit under that tree." He pointed at a tree not far from the shore.

They walked together and sat down. Tala looked at her father and smiled with tearful eyes.

"I missed you." She whispered.

"Sorry for leaving you the way I did. I shouldn't have taken you to the shop with me."

"I would've followed you anyway." She smiled. "I always loved going out with you."

"How are your mother and brother?"

Tala frowned. Did he really have to spoil it? "They're fine. Excellent to be correct. Unlike me." She sighed.

"I know what's happening at home. I've been there so many times." He smiled at her. "Your mother doesn't hate you. She loves you and she wants to help you in everything you need."

"She doesn't care for me. She loves Remus. Why does she buy him new school stuff each year, while I have to wear and use what I had for ten years now? Why should he go to a private school, while I attend a public one? Why does he have friends who come to visit him while I have none? Why does he get whatever he wants and why do I have to lock myself up in my room, just because mom refused to buy me a bubble gum?"

"She can use wizard money, that's why Remus has been treated in a better way than you. Wizard clothes are not the same as muggle clothes." Her father said calmly.

"Wizard? Muggle? What's a muggle?" Tala asked.

"A muggle is a non-wizard human. You're a muggle, and Remus is a wizard, as well as me."

"You're JOKING!"

"I'm not."

"How come I never knew that you're a wizard? I knew about Remus only today on the train, but I didn't know about you." Tala asked excitedly.

"I never lived to tell you."

Tala looked at the ground guiltily. She never considered asking her mother about the situation at home and her father died when she was a child.

"Why didn't mom tell me?" she asked.

"She was afraid that you or your brother would get hurt. She couldn't even exchange wizard money with muggle money because we were threatened not to do so. I used to sell golden sickles to jewelry shops to get muggle money for our living."

Tala remembered the day her father died. She went with him to a jewelry shop and as soon as they were out, her father was dead. She looked at him in a shocked expression.

"Gringotts didn't allow me to withdraw normal sickles from our account and exchange it for muggle money. They were being threatened too, so I had to buy golden sickles which are used as a souvenir, then I used to go and sell them as golden coins." He continued. "The day I took you with me was the last of it."

"Why didn't mom do the same?" Tala asked quietly.

"She was afraid of being killed and leaving you to the orphanage. Your brother can't stay in an orphanage because…"

"He has to change once a month." Tala continued for him.

"Exactly. She didn't hide from you the fact that your brother is a werewolf just because you were also at home and you needed to know so you wouldn't enter his room when you hear him scream in pain."

"That's the scariest part of it." she said.

"Your mother is panicked at this moment. She wants to know where you are at this moment."

"Too late to tell her I guess. I don't know how to inform her."

"I'll let her know. Now you need to go back to the castle and stay there. This place is dangerous and the school is the only safe place you can be at around here."

Tala nodded silently.

"I came here to tell you about this. You needed to know everything." her father said. "Your mother wouldn't have told you. She doesn't want you to get involved."

Tala gasped as tears filled her eyes again. "What have I done? All these years I've been acting like a fool trying to keep away from her and Remus! Dad can I fix everything?"

"Of course you can my flower. Your mother loves you as much as I did once. And your brother loves you too. All you need to do now, is to tell him that you you're here." He said. "And I better go now. I have another couple of cities to visit."

Tala smiled. "Will you come again?"

"I'm always with you my flower, you can look at the sky at night and talk to the stars. That way I'll know that you're talking to me."

Tala smiled and nodded. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too honey."

Tala watched as her father disappeared in a white flash of light. She lay on the ground and stared at the sky. It was a bright and a clear night. She didn't know how she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	4. Midnight stroll

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A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating this:)

**Pearl of the Moon:** Thanks!

**Me: **Uh-oh! Thanks for reminding me :) I'll correct that later :)

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Chapter 3 - Midnight stroll

Emily was pacing nervously in the Gryffindor common room. She wanted to get out and search for Tala in the corridors, but she was scared that Filch might catch her. The invisibility cloak was with Tala, so Emily didn't have much chance on getting out unnoticed. She stopped and looked out of the window. Tala might be freezing in the corridors now, she thought.

A warm breath on her neck brought Emily back from her thoughts. She turned around to see Sirius standing behind her, his face only a couple of inches away from hers.

"Sirius," Emily said, "what are you doing here?"

"Nothing. I couldn't sleep, and I realized that I missed you."

That was it. The magic words that does wonders to a girl's heart. Emily looked into his eyes without saying a word. Sirius was starting to feel rather nervous. Emily hadn't stared into his eyes for so long. In fact, she has never stared into his eyes before.

"I missed you too." Emily replied, finally.

Sirius gave her a mischievous grin and pulled her close. "So, can we finish what we started in the corridors?"

"Of course!" Emily replied and felt herself melting into Sirius' arms as they kissed.

It wasn't long when a sound in the common room had interrupted them. He turned to see an angry James and a confused Remus sitting in front of the fireplace and whispering to each other.

"Can I ever have privacy?" Sirius said and rolled his eyes. Emily giggled. "Oh, you think it's funny?" he asked her and she nodded. "Gee, thanks!"

"Not at all." She replied and went to the girls' dormitories.

Sirius stared after her as she climbed the stairs leading to the dormitories and then he joined his friends.

"Where's Wormtail?" Sirius asked.

"Dunno, and don't want to know." James replied.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, looking from James to Remus.

"Moony has lost my invisibility cloak!" James said.

"I hadn't lost it! I just forgot to put it in my trunk, that's all." Remus replied, looking grave.

"Hey, calm down you two," Sirius said, "Moony's mum can send it."

"I've been trying to tell him that." Remus said.

"You perfectly know that no one's supposed to know about the cloak!" James' voice was getting higher.

"Take it easy Prongs, you're going to wake the whole school," Sirius said, "besides, it's better if we all go to bed now."

"I can't sleep." Remus said and stared at the fireplace. He was still thinking about Tala and her whereabouts.

"Listen mate," James said, "I'm sorry I got mad about the cloak."

"You have the right to feel so. I'm sorry I…" Remus let out a sigh and looked at the ground. He didn't forget the cloak at all. He had lost it, and he couldn't remember how or when.

"It's okay Moony, you said your mum's going to send it back." James smiled, "And we have a plenty of time until the full moon, so we won't be using it until then."

"All right." Remus said with a faint smile.

"No news about your sister?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing at all." Remus replied.

"If you hear something, let me know," Sirius said and got up, "I'm going to bed."

"Remus, let's go to bed. If your mum sends an owl, it will show up in our dormitory, so it's better if you come and sleep." James said.

"All right," Remus said disappointedly. He got up and followed his friends to their room.

Emily watched the boys as they climbed the stairs to the boys' dormitories. She waited a few more minutes to make sure they were in their room and then she came down to the common room. She walked out of the portrait hole and walked through the corridors. She was determined to find Tala, even if Filch found her first.

"Tala, are you there?" Emily kept whispering all the way. Call it bad luck, but she couldn't find Tala anywhere around the castle. Therefore, she decided to search outside.

Meanwhile, Tala was sleeping peacefully under a tree near the lake. She was shivering slightly, as the night was getting colder. A man was watching her from a distance, as to make sure no one tries to hurt her. Tala shifted in her sleep and pulled the invisibility cloak over her body, leaving only her head out.

Emily walked through the school grounds. She looked around her as she walked, trying to see or hear something. She walked until she reached the lake. Suddenly, she felt her legs shaking and not able to carry her. She saw a familiar head at the base of a tree.

"Tala," Emily whispered to herself, "is it you or only your head?"

She looked around for a sight of some kind of a beast, but when she couldn't find any she walked toward Tala's head and knelt near it.

"Tala?" Emily called in a low voice and tried to touch the empty space where Tala's body was supposed to be. She sighed in relief when she felt the cloak and pulled it away. She gently shook Tala's shoulder.

"Tala, wake up."

Tala opened her eyes and looked around.

"Wha… Emily? Oh, thank God you're here!" Tala said and embraced Emily.

"I thought Filch caught you in the corridors! I was worried!" Emily said and pulled back.

"I'm so sorry," Tala said, "I was bored and went for a walk, and I ended up here."

Emily smiled, "let's go back before anyone wakes up."

"Too late," said a voice from behind.

The girls stood and looked around. Emily recognized the voice at once.

"Hagrid?" she asked.

"Quite righ'," Hagrid replied, "wha're yeh two doin' 'ere?"

"We… er… we…" Emily was trying to say something, but it seemed that she forgot how to talk.

Tala, on the other hand, was staring at Hagrid as though she was looking at a monster. He was as twice as a normal man's size would be, with shoulder length, messy black hair and beard. He reminded Tala of a giant pirate. She took a step back and pulled Emily with her, afraid that the 'big' stranger would hurt them.

"Yeh forgot how ter speak?" Hagrid asked, "what're yeh doin' out here at the middle o' the nigh'? Yer not supposed ter get out of yer dormitry after nine!"

"S-sorry Hagrid," Emily said, "I can explain everything."

"Yer lucky I found yeh first!" he said and started to walk, "follow me!"

Tala hesitated, but Emily pulled her and assured her that they were safe. Although Tala wasn't convinced, but she had no other choice than to follow Emily wherever they were going to.

Hagrid took the girls to his hut. He opened the door and a puppy ran to him and started jumping around him and barking in his own way, which were more like squeaks.

"'ello Fang." Hagrid said and picked the puppy in his enormous hands, then he turned to the girls, "come in and close the door after yeh."

Tala and Emily entered the cottage and Emily closed the door.

"Sit down," Hagrid said.

The girls sat on the couch. Tala looked around and was amazed to see that everything was so big in the cottage.

"Want some tea?" Hagrid asked as he put three cups on the table.

"Yes, please." Emily said with a smile. She knew that Hagrid offered tea only when he wasn't angry.

"No, thanks." Tala said. She was feeling nervous.

"All righ', there yeh go." He gave a cup to Emily and offered another to Tala, "yeh sure yeh don' want some?"

Tala shook her head.

"Suit yerself," Hagrid said and sat on an armchair. "Now, tell me what yeh two were doin' out there at this hour."

Emily looked at Tala apologetically, "we have to tell him, you know."

"All right." Tala said and looked at the ground.

"Hagrid, meet Tala Lupin." Emily said.

"Lupin? As in Remus Lupin?" Hagrid asked.

"Exactly," Emily said, "Tala is Remus' sister."

"Blimey! Poor lad was cryin' his eyes out fer yeh!" he looked at Tala as though he was going to shout at her, "why didn't yeh tell him where yeh were all day?"

"Hagrid, she didn't know Remus is a wizard." Emily said.

"What?"

"She came to Hogwarts trying to find out about Remus' secret school." Emily told Hagrid what she knew about Tala, and the reason she was there. Hagrid listened carefully without interrupting her.

"…And I found her sleeping at the lake." Emily finished her story.

Hagrid sat there silent for a moment, patting Fang with one hand, and holding his tea cup with the other. He looked from Emily to Tala for a moment, then he spoke:

"And why do yeh think Remus doesn't care for yeh?" he asked, looking at Tala.

"He… he never acted like he did." Tala replied.

"I don't know how he acts at home, but I'm sure he's a wonderful person!" Hagrid said.

"I found out about that tonight," Tala said, "I saw my father, and he told me everything."

"Well, I must take yeh ter see Dumbledore." Hagrid said and got up.

"No!" Emily said a little bit louder than she intended. "Hagrid, please don't tell the headmaster! I'll get expelled from school!"

"He won't do such thing, now come on." He put Fang on the ground and walked to the door, "he'll find out anyway."

Emily and Tala got up and followed him out of the cottage.

As they entered the school, they headed straight to Dumbledore's office. They stood in front of a stone gargoyle.

"Midgets!" Hagrid said and quickly turned to face the girls, "he likes ter use some funny stuff as passwords sometimes."

Emily raised an eyebrow as she looked at Hagrid, who smiled. Until this moment, she thought that their headmaster was a serious person, but now, she thought he was someone very similar to Sirius and his friends if he chose that kind of a word for a password.

The stone gargoyle moved to a side and a spiral staircase appeared in front of them. Hagrid climbed it and the girl followed him.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Hagrid stopped and knocked the door.

"Come in!" the headmaster said from inside his office.

Hagrid opened the door and entered, the girls following him silently.

"Hagrid? Is there something wrong?" Dumbledore asked.

"Sorry ter disturb yeh professor," Hagrid said, "I thought yeh ought ter know 'bout these two…"

"Yes, of course," Dumbledore said and got up from his chair, "have a seat, please."

The girls and Hagrid sat down.

"Professor, this girl 'ere," Hagrid pointed at Tala, "is the sister o' Remus Lupin."

"What a nice surprise." Dumbledore said.

"She's 'ere ter keep an eye on 'er brother." Hagrid added.

"Is she?" Dumbledore looked at Tala, "well, we'll have to hear her out before we judge her."

Tala and Emily looked at each other nervously. Tala felt like she was about to cry as she felt the lump in her throat. She was in deep trouble and she knew it. Emily looked scared. She knew she was going to be expelled for wandering out of the castle in the middle of the night.

"Miss Lupin," Dumbledore said, "you may speak."

Tala turned to face the headmaster and to her surprise he was smiling to her. That didn't make her feel any better though.

Tala told the headmaster the reason why she came to Hogwarts, and how she thought that her mother was favoring her brother and sending him to a privet school while she had to go to some public school. Dumbledore listened to her tale carefully and without interruption. When Tala reached the part where she was on Hogwarts Express, Emily joined the conversation and skipped the parts where Sirius was involved.

"I know that I did wrong by hiding her, headmaster," Emily said, "but I didn't know what to do at the moment."

"Is my brother going to be thrown out of school because of me?" Tala asked, tears glittering in her eyes and her hands shaking.

Dumbledore looked at both of them for a moment before standing up and walking to the window. His silence was scaring the girls and he felt their fear. He turned to them and looked at Emily.

"Miss Brown, I believe you should be in your dormitory at this moment."

Emily got up and gave Tala a look of sympathy before heading to the door.

"Hagrid, if you please escort Miss Brown to the Gryffindor Tower," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, sir," Hagrid got up and left the office with Emily.

"Are you going to hand me to the police?" Tala asked slowly.

"Police?" Dumbledore wondered, "why should I do that? You didn't break any rules, did you?"

Tala shrugged.

"You did break rules, and I'm too lazy to name them at this moment," he smiled, "but we can talk about them tomorrow morning before breakfast. Besides, the police don't know about our school."

Tala shifted in her seat, "I… I don't have a place to stay."

"I'm sure we can find a free room in this little castle," Dumbledore replied with a smile.

Tala smiled. Somehow, she felt relieved. Dumbledore showed her a room at the Western Tower, where the chambers of the teachers were located.

"I will owl your mother," Dumbledore told Tala when they reached the room he was going to show her, "she has the right to know where you are, and it's a good opportunity to meet her again."

"You know my mother personally?" Tala asked.

"Of course I do," Dumbledore replied, "you don't think that I could've accepted your brother to study here before meeting your parents first."

"I guess not."

"You'll stay here tonight," Dumbledore opened a door that led to a small room with only a bed, a chair and a desk. Tala entered the room and looked around. The walls were white and blue flames provided light to the room. Tala noticed that the flames were floating in the air and she stared at them with amazement.

"They're called Everlasting Flames. They provide light, as you can see." Dumbledore said.

"How do I turn them off?" Tala asked.

"You don't. It's done by magic, with just a wave of a wand. And since you can't do magic, I'll charm them to disappear in about fifteen minutes. Is that enough time for you to go to bed?"

"Yes, thank you," Tala replied.

"Good night," Dumbledore replied and waved his wand at the flames. He left the room and closed the door after him.

Tala looked around. The room was small and had only one window, which was covered with a white curtain. She decided that she would look out of the window in the morning and lay on the bed. She saw the flames disappear one after another until the room was completely dark.

"Well Tala, welcome to the world of… weirdos." She mumbled to herself before she fell asleep.


End file.
